From condom art to motorcycle yoga, 6 bizarre Guinness World records that belong to Indians

We have a lot of spare time on our hands

According to a New York Times report nearly a tenth of all Guinness World Record submissions now come from India. The findings also stated that in 2013 alone, Indians applied for over 3,000 records, and the number of Indian record-holders has grown 250 percent over the past three years.

Gone are the days when record holders were incredibly strong, fast or able to push the limits of human ability. Instead, these categories have become increasingly bizarre (we’re not talking about the longest toe nails or the loudest penis). And incredibly specific — like Goddess of Flexibility Zlata’s record (fastest to burst three balloons) or Sailendra Nath Roy’s attempt at trying to cross a river on a zip line attached to his ponytail, an attempt that ended in tragedy when he suffered a heart attack during the stunt.

If you need more proof that record-setting is now a feverish subculture in India, check out this list of the craziest things we’ve done for a world record.

Inside the bizarre world of India’s Guinness World Records

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Image: Twitter

Largest condom mosaic

India hasn’t cracked the conundrum that is Sex Education and isn’t the most progressive when it comes to adults having consensual sex, but we’re still the second most populous country in the world, so it’s safe to say that whatever the government’s take on the issue is, we’re still mating like bunnies. In 2014, to spread awareness about birth control, the UPSACS, INDEX, IIM-Lucknow and HLFPPT created the world’s largest condom mosaic out of 4,418 condom packs which measured over 20 feet in length.

Most number of hugs in one minute

What can you do in under a minute? In case it’s taking you longer than 60 seconds to think of something, this little nugget will make you feel even more inadequate. Early this year, Krishna Kumar, dubbed “the most affectionate record breaker”, hugged 79 different kids in one minute— averaging 1.3 hugs per second — at a school in Uttar Pradesh, India. Those sweat stains prove hugging is a real sport.

Largest backward walk

In 2014, Indore’s Prestige Institute of Management and Research celebrated their annual entrepreneurship week, theme “Innovating India” by gathering 1,107 participants for the largest backwards walk. Why? Because nothing says innovation like a little backward locomotion.

Image: Shutterstock

Most simultaneous handshakes

This was a (handshake) orgy of epic proportions. Things got a bit handsy at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a temple in Gujarat in 2013, when 4,435 couples (from a crowd of over 2 million devotees) proceeded to shake hands for the vague aim of promoting public harmony.

Most consecutive yoga poses on a bike

Before surfboards, motorcycles were the new yoga mats. In 2013, Jabalpur’s Hav Ramesh set a Guinness World Record by performing 50 consecutive yoga poses (including 10 reverse positions) over a distance of 5 km on a motorcyle. The yoga hipster beat the previous record set by Hong Kong-based yoga teacher Yogaraj C P, who performed 23 yoga poses in 2011.

Fastest time to type using the nose

Delhi’s Vinod Kumar Choudhary was probably the reason designer Dominic Wilcox invented a Pinocchio-style “finger-nose stylus” – a device that lets you navigate your touchscreen phone hands-free. Vinod achieved a world record for the fastest time to type 103 characters with his nose (clocking in an impressive 46.30 seconds) If you’re wondering what inspired him to use this particular appendage, Choudhary said, “Typing is my profession as well as passion, which inspired me to try something different and outstanding.”

The prescribed text set by the Guinness World Records team was: ‘Guinness World Records have challenged me to type this sentence using my nose in the fastest time.’